Fighting Weight: The Ne-Yo Screwdriver Workout

R&B hitmaker Ne-Yo knows what it's like to lose focus. He and his trainer, Ron "Boss" Everline, are here to show you how to get it back

The RB singer and songwriter Ne-Yo was never fat fat. But a few years ago, he realized he had lost that once-effortless symbol of youth and fitness—the six-pack. "I had a six-pack my entire life until I turned 25 or 26," he tells us. "And then it just went away. When you’re not paying attention to your health, all of a sudden it’s gone."

Ne-Yo wasn’t too far gone—when he tells us he was fat, he refers to shoots from his album, "Year of the Gentleman," in which he was, if anything, a little soft—but he started watching what he ate. He went pescetarian at first, and then, because his hectic schedule requires an unfortunate reliance on late-night spots that rarely serve fish, eventually added chicken and turkey to his diet. But the most important shift came two years ago when he began working with his trainer, Ron "Boss" Everline. It was difficult for him to fully commit at first: "Boss would call every morning and be like, ’Hey, do you want to get it in, do you want to work out?’" NeYo says, laughing. "And I’d be like, ’Yeah... call me back in an hour.’ He’d call an hour later and I’d say, ’Yeah... call me back in another hour.’ But I finally decided, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to really take it seriously. I flipped at the start of this year and haven’t stopped since."

The results are certainly visible—check out his video for "Lazy Love," which premiered earlier this month—but the real changes aren’t purely cosmetic. "People say that the more you work out, the more you get into it, and that your workout in the morning will actually energize you for the rest of the day. And I used to think, ’Bullshit. Get outta here with that,’" Ne-Yo said. "But honestly, it’s true. Now, after Boss and I do the workouts, I’m juiced. I’m ready for whatever I have to do that day. It’s all behind the workout."

We got Boss on the phone to give us the details on the "Screwdriver" routine, one of many workouts he puts Ne-Yo through on a daily basis. Try it now, without hesitating. Because to get in Ne-Yo-level shape, you can’t keep putting off a workout by an hour—especially given how quickly hours turn into days, then years.

Boss says: Ne-Yo didn’t want to get big—he wanted to represent more of a leaner look, something he can maintain with his busy schedule. This workout is for lean muscle rather than mass, and includes four mini-circuits after the warmup.

The Warm-Up

_Ne-Yo and Boss tag-teaming their workout. _

_To warm up, do each of the following ercises for about 10 yards out and back. Repeat the warm-up series two or three times. _

Walking lunges

Standing with your hands on your hips, take a stride out while lowering yourself until your forward leg is at a 90-degree angle. Your back leg should also form a 90-degree angle without banging your knee on the ground. As you take a step with your back leg, step into a lunge position. Walk this way for 10 yards and back.

Walking knee hugs

_Each time you take a step, bring your back leg up in front of you and hug your knee to your chest, then step out with that leg. _

Walking quad pulls

_Each time you take a step, bring your back leg up behind you and grab your foot with your hand of the same side, pausing briefly to stretch your calf. _

The inchworm

_While standing, bend forward and extend your hands to the ground. Walk your hands out in front of you until your body is in the push-up position. After that, keep your hands where they are and walk your feet up to them. Walk your hands out until you are in push-up position again and repeat. _

The Frankenstein

_Walk with arms straight out in front of you. Keeping your legs straight, kick your feet up to the palms of your hands as you walk in order to stretch out your hamstrings. _

Arm rotations

_As you walk, swing your arms in a swimming motion to loosen them up. Alternate between forward and backward rotations. _

*The Workout *

Repeat the following four ercises twice:

12 sprints

_These can be either 100-yard, all-out sprints or 1-minute intervals at a high speed setting on the treadmill. Take 30 seconds of recovery time in between each one. _

15 knee-to-elbows

_On a pull-up bar, hang with your arms bent at a 90-degree angle. Bring your knees up to your elbows while keeping good posture – your core should be straight. _

15 in-and-outs

_Hanging from the pull-up bar with your arms straight, bring your legs up until they’re straight out in front of you. Then bring your knees to your chest, and extend your legs back out until they’re once again straight out in front of you. Repeat. _

15 hanging leg lifts

_Hanging from the pull-up bar with your arms straight, bring your legs up until they’re straight out in front of you, and then lower them until your body is straight again. Repeat. _

_Ne-Yo shows that lost time can be made up if you work at it. _

Repeat the following six ercises twice:

12 plank Spider Mans each leg

_Get in a plank position–essentially a push-up position with your back straight, abs tight, but balancing on your forearms and elbows instead of on your hands–then bring your right knee to the outside of your right elbow, then back down into plank position. Repeat with your left side. _

25 toe touches

_Jump into the air and bring your legs straight out in front of you, reaching for your toes. Keep your legs as straight as possible. _

Tying your shoe

Lie on your back. These are essentially sit-ups, but with your legs straight out, which will help with your flexibility. Each time you sit up, loosen part of your shoelaces until both are completely untied. Then, retie them as you finish the set, equaling about 8 sit-ups.

25 mountain climbers each leg

_In a push-up position, bring one leg up towards your hands, driving your knee up as high as you can. As you bring that foot back down drive your other knee up. _

15 side plank hip raises

_In a side plank position—like a plank, but facing to one side and supported by only one arm—lower your hips until the lower side almost touches the ground, then bring them back up until your body is straight. Repeat 15 times each side. _

Sit-up with a jump

Start with a regular sit-up with your hands behind your neck or crossed in front of your chest. After you sit up, put both hands on the ground and jump as high as you can. Come back down and do two full sit-ups, then jump into the air. Then do three sit-ups and jump. Continue in this way until you do get to eight situps before jumping.

Repeat the following five ercises three times:

High-knee jump rope

Jump rope while bringing your knees up as high as you can. Jump for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds. Repeat this for three minutes.

15 military push-ups

_Start in a push-up position but with your butt in the air. Pretend there is a wire in front of your face that you need to go under; dip your head under it, and then raise your head back up on the other side with your hips almost touching the ground. Go back under the wire in the same way, ending in the original position. _

Sit down on a chair or bench and cup your hands on the edge on either side of your thighs. Walk your legs out until you’re no longer sitting and are supporting yourself on your hands. Using your arms, lower yourself in front of the chair, then push back up until your arms are fully extended. Do as many as you can.

13 dumbbell lunge jumps each leg

_Holding dumbbells of 10-20 pounds on either side of your hips, do a lunge with your left foot forward, then jump straight up, landing in a lunge with your right foot forward. Repeat. _

Repeat the following four ercises three times:

15 pull-ups

_Hang from a bar with your palms facing away from you, shoulder-width apart. Pull yourself upward until your chin is level with the bar, then lower yourself down again. _

25 dumbbell squats

_While holding dumbbells of 10-20 pounds at your sides, keep your feet shoulder-width apart and squat until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Come back up and repeat. _

15 resistance band curl presses

_Holding each end of a resistance band at your sides, stand on the middle of it. First, pull the band upward with a bicep curl. Then, twist the handles so your palms are facing forward, and stretch the band above your head in a military-press position, until your elbows are locked. Lower your hands back down, first with your palms forward, and then bicep curling back down to your sides. _

25 dumbbell squat jumps

Just like for dumbbell squats, keep the dumbbells at your sides. Squat until your thighs are parallel with the ground, then jump into the air until your feet are off the ground. Repeat.

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